Just sharing some of the presents we gave to the kids come Christmas. Matthew got a Digital Arts and Crafts Studio and Martha got an AquaDoodle Mat from Mommy and Daddy. As of the moment, Matthew plays with it once in a while – he wants to print what he creates immediately and since we dont have any printer, he gets disinterested immediately. Martha loves the AquaDoodle tho – and Mommy loves it too! It’s no mess, completely recyclable and large enough for her to be preoccupied for a solid 15 minutes or until the water in the pen runs out, in which case I need to refill.
Martha got a lot of bags and little stuff while Matthew got books – lots of them, which was very nice because it will keep him occupied as well. When I was a kid, all I wanted were the fluffy stuffed toys and got nothing EVER All I got was money in envelopes
I think Matthew will have a blast playing with these magnet in usa toys called MAGNEXT.
Matthew is obsessed with dinosaurs (and Greek Mythology for that matter) and having something tangible for him to play with and in a way study will get him over the moon. The concept of these toys are similar to building blocks but instead of the bulky lego types, you will be dealing with bone-shaped rods that makes it more challenging and more fun. Oh well, next Christmas
December 18, 2008 Thursday Manila Ocean Park & Enchanted Kingdom Lucky Me Noodle Factory Monde Nissin Corporation – Bo. Balibago, Sta Rosa, Laguna, Philippines
Matthew really enjoyed himself at EK. He was actually up to ride everything EK has to offer but after almost throwing up after riding in Anchor’s Away (we both felt sick and so dizzy afterwards, I lost my drive to ride the Space Shuttle), he was scared and well, out of energy. He enjoyed the water rides so much though.
December 18, 2008 Thursday Manila Ocean Park & Enchanted Kingdom Lucky Me Noodle Factory Monde Nissin Corporation – Bo. Balibago, Sta Rosa, Laguna, Philippines
The one thing I will never forget the ridiculously early call time at school: 5:30AM! Que horror. Add to that ridiculous call time is the fact that it was ridiculously cold as well! I didn’t have any sleep for fear of not being able to wake up (bad call I know!).
Things I Learned When Matthew Went On a Field Trip:
1. Don’t waste money and time going to the grocery to load his bag full of baon. He would be so excited he would not even eat. AT ALL. What he would want to eat would be the ones found in the food stalls at the trip sites, naturally. 2. In relation to Item No.1, load yourself with money. Lots of it. Because Matthew will want to buy every souvenir he wants and would insist to buy a ridiculously priced dolphin with “Manila Ocean Park” stitched to it for Martha. Then he would insist to buy pasalubong for Lolo and Lola as well. Naturally. 3. Just let him not eat. Seriously. I think the only dull spot of our trip was when I got angry because he just was not interested in eating.
It was honestly a disappointment, but what the heck my son was fascinated with everything he saw (he made sure to read every freaking sign I tell you). I was busy taking pictures and showing Matthew what I can recall in the creatures I saw in the movie Finding Nemo (hee hee, hindi ako ganun ka-nerd katulad ni Matthew).
Last Christmas, one of the traditions I wanted to start with my kids was to watch a movie a night in preparation for Christmas. I liked to call it the “12 Days of Christmas” tradition in our house along a few others.
My kids are big on movies and are avid movie-viewers. They would rather watch a full-length movie than stay glued on TV watching TV sitcoms even if it’s cartoons.
Whenever Edil is home, we would always watch a movie the first night he comes home. It can be a full-length movie of a cartoon or a comedy type of movie. What is important is that it should be OK for the kids to watch – no sex-related scenes, gorry and violent scenes. Matthew is at the stage where he questions everything and is keen behind every reason of an action so we need to be conscious of it.
Our movie night usually follows after dinner. We all need to wash up and be in our pajamas before Edil plops in a movie and it will be lights out in our room. These are rare times when we are allowed to eat inside our room – usually it will be chips and soda. Lots of it
Since Martha loves animals, I have put the All Roads Lead Home The Movie into our movie night wait list. The movie is available for pre-order come January 13th according to their web site. It is all about 12 year old girl who loses her mother in a car accident. Her father struggles with the loss of his wife and trying to raise his young daughter who believes her father is partly responsible for her mother’s death. Her grandfather can’t deal with her as well. He finds it difficult to have a relationship with Belle since she is a constant reminder of her mother. It is Atticus the new puppy who will change Belle’s life and the lives of those who love her.
Let’s bring it on I have been putting off writing the updates for this main blog because of fear of being overwhelmed that I almost wanted to not write anymore. But the sentimental OC freak in me won over and I’m going to try to write down what I can remember from crazy December.
Pre-Christmas Day, I have been the Grinch to the kids, to be honest. I was so lazy in putting up the Christmas decorations, I put on hold Operation Santa for the longest time (I had the grand idea to bring in a Santa letter, his elf and the works – reindeer food toppers etc) and I was generally just not feeling the spirit.
All of that changed when we started going to Simbang Gabi. Of course, with the Simbang Gabi being so close to Christmas itself, everything was just crazy busy from there.
I am happy though that I got to complete the 9 days of Simbang Gabi. I still believe I get to have a wish and I have a very strong feeling My Father Up There will grant me that wish. I am spoiled I tell you!
We hear mass everyday at the very beautiful grounds at the Shrine:
So I have not been suffering from post-holiday depression. I’m trying to get out of holiday mode and just face the new year. But apparently, I still can’t – given that we still have our Christmas decorations around the house and the remnants of Christmas past is all over the house – most noticeable are the new toys, the three mountains of dirty laundry and the big plastic bags from Toys R’ Us.
I’m still undecided whether to work away from home again this year or not. It’s a foregone conclusion I would still need to work, ideally on an environment that befits my degree. However, it would still not be doable with no reliable maid in sight. I’m praying for what is right for us right now.
So what’s the solution I can think of? Do work at home.
I can take care of the kids and still earn. Home Based Business offices have been gaining popularity ever since most new mothers opted to stay at home and take care of the kids and give up their careers. Of course, the economics doesn’t change – they would still need to help augment the family income that is why home-based businesses became such a huge hit. Home Business Ideas are varied and endless. There is a Plug-In Profit Site that will allow you to do affiliate marketing – and you don’t need to do any telemarketing phone calls. The system is fully-automated and allows you to earn online. Does it sound too good to be true? I recommend you study offers and the program very well before proceeding. There are affiliate marketing sites that turned out to be bogus sales schemes. Make sure you are only affiliated with the tried and tested programs.
The holidays are not yet over. We still have two more parties to go to and then we can call it a year! I have been uploading pictures to my Flickr. (I’ve edited this and it’s over – it’s already the New Year!)
While I cannot guarantee that I can write about Christmas in detail, you can catch glimpses of ours in the notes I made on the pictures.
I still have to blog about these, but to give you a recap of the whirlwind we went through: December 24: Noche Buena at the Shrine, went home 2:30AM, Santa came so we slept at 4AM December 25: Christmas Brunch at the Shrine (woke up at 9AM), went to Manila, Makati, back to Cavite by 9PM December 26: Tagaytay Zoo with cousin and her family December 27: Back to Manila December 28: Niece’s 7th Birthday Party, Back to Cavite.
We are going to rest today and half of tomorrow (we have a party to attend to tomorrow). In fact, all three are still sleeping except for me – I’m trying to blog and finish work as I’ve still to scrap my Creative Team assignments.
No family pictures – yet. Just this from the zoo last 26th:
After five years of working in an industry that requires me to face a computer for 12 hrs a day, I would be needing glasses. And this comes after only 6 months of staying at home. Life is ironic. My officemates used to so jealous of my 20/20 vision. Apparently, it was all just fluke. Now to get me some stylish frames. There are Holiday frames from Zenni Optical that are supposedly cheap. I must buy one soon. Apparently they market their merchandise direct to the public so there are no added prices from middlemen and advertising.
It’s so sad I discovered this only after the holidays. It would be better if I had used these for holidays. One of the schedules I need to confirm is our schedule with the optometrist. We all need to have our eyes checked the soonest possible time. Matthew needs to have his lazy eye checked, Edil needs to have his short-eyed vision checked and I need to have anti-eyestrain glasses because of too much time in the computer.
Im quite partial to Zenni Optical frames since they are cheap but do not scrimp on quality. I might get frames from there and just have graded glasses inserted.
I am still caught with all the activities that come during the holidays. We have been going out non-stop since the 24th and I long for at least a week to clam up and just chill around the house. We are here in Manila to be part of my goddaughter’s 7th birthday and this is our second time in Manila in less than three days. Seven-hour trips doesn’t really sit well with me. Thankfully, not one of us have been sick, but I’m guessing we will be if we don’t slow down.
Anyway, there are a lot of stories to share but that needs to be put on hold until Monday, when I can, hopefully, blog more freely in the comforts of my own home. For now, I am browsing some free wordpress themes as I have the itch to ring in the new year with new looks for my blogs.
There are nice wordpress themes at FreetheMeLayouts.com. They look like premium themes and the nice part about it are they are very much free. I have chosen around four themes to use for my blogs and now the only thing I am asking for is more time in a day, or maybe less activities to be able to get back to the usual swing of things before the holiday madness took over.
It seems that men will always be men when it comes to cars. I have friends who dress their cars and can talk about them as if they are women for hours and hours. While most men actually just want to dress up and pimp their cars, there are those who want the thrill of driving cars fast – so they go into racing.
There are welter weight race cars that are for racing. They are called dwarf cars as well primarily because of its size.
Dwarf cars are 5/8 scale replica models of vintage 1928-1948 American made automobiles. They have full steel roll cages; sheet metal bodies, and powered by 4 cylinder motorcycle engines up to 1250cc. They have full racing suspension and are capable of speeds over 100 mph (160 kmh) on the straight-aways. With their size and quickness, they are perfectly suited to asphalt track oval racing.
Dwarf cars are "real" race cars, not family go-karts. With modern design suspension, Dwarf cars are achieving speeds similar to the fastest full size cars.
You can go to the website of Peter D Motorsports to look at their online catalog of body parts and cars for sale. Their auto parts are personally CAD designed by their in-house engineer.
I have been doing a bit of reading about medicine again for the past few days. Well, it has covered a span of a few weeks actually. It started when I was rearranging things a bit around the house and I took out my nursing books for full view (so I can see them all the time and maybe be interested enough to open one).
Medical-surgical nursing has been one of my weakest areas when I was studying. So I decided to open that one first. I stumbled upon the inflictions or diseases on the cranial and facial nerves and read that aside from the most popular/most common disease, Bell’s Palsy, there is a disease called Trigeminal Neuralgia that afflicts an estimated 1 in 15,000 people. It is often misdiagnosed so the numbers may actually be a bit higher, considering it develops most often after you hit the age of 50 and more cases have been reported with women.
What is it actually? It is commonly called tic doloureux or prosopalgia and what happens when you are experiencing TN is that you have stabbing and excruciating pain in the eyes, lips, nose, scalp, forehead, and jaw. It sometimes is a short experience but gradually becomes longer.
However, there is hope for treatment. At the Skull Base Institute, you can get treatment under its director, Dr. Shahinian. He is the only doctor of today who has gone lengthier training to be able to perform skull base, craniofacial and microvascular fellowships.. Skull base surgeries are done using minimally invasive endoscopic techniques. It is actually the only institute doing fully endoscopic surgery to treat acoustic neuromas, meningiomas, trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm.
How do they treat TN? Patients can find this special expertise at the Facial Pain, Spasm and Paralysis Center (Facial PSP Center) at The Skull Base Institute. The endoscope is used to treat TN by inserting it to a dime-size opening behind the ear. Through this opening, surgeons insert a 2.7 mm endoscope. They can then identify the problem and perform the procedure - meticulously separating the nerve and blood vessel, and inserting a Teflon disk between them. Once the pressure has been relieved, patients often report immediate and complete relief from the pain.
Pituitary Tumor diseases are often the ones the go undiagnosed for a long time given their common symptoms. It is still best to consult with your doctor if you have been experiencing common pains more frequently and for long periods of time.
1. How many members of your family not living with you did you see on Christmas Day? More than 40. Edil’s side of the family is huge and we saw all of them.
2. When spending time with family, how long after you arrive do you begin to feel “antsy” about being there too long? It’s not really the company I get antsy about but the heat and humidity of Manila. I cannot stay there longer than a day now – I guess if we were booked in a hotel with 24/7 airconditioning that would be OK
3. Is your family more likely to have pleasant discussions or heated arguments during a big meal? Do you join in or quietly listen in? Pleasant discussions. I join in – I will be the loudest most likely.
4. Take the quiz: How Do You Really Feel About Your Family?
You Feel Misunderstood By Your Family
You are very quick to forgive your family for wrongdoings. You don’t expect them to be perfect, and you try to help them out whenever it’s possible.
You have confidence in your family to take care of itself and make good decisions. You especially have this confidence in the younger generation.
It’s sometimes hard for your family to understand who you are now. You’ve changed a lot, and they have trouble accepting the new you.
You are honest and very outspoken with your family. You sometimes hurt feelings by saying things they don’t want to hear.
5. Consider the family member whose views are most opposite of your own: If your friends or co-workers met the person, what single topic would probably be the source of the most embarrassment for you if your friends heard that person talking? Well, most of my family members are as eccentric as me.
6. Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas? What one thing that you didn’t get would you like to have received? Id like to have a small business franchise so that we can finally be financially stable.
1. What was the best thing that happened to you personally in 2008? We were able to move out on our own – and I was able to take care of the kids personally.
2. What was the worst thing that happened to you personally in 2008? No bad things. I choose to be happy.
3. What was the best thing to happen to all of us in 2008? We were given another year to live!
4. What was the worst thing to happen to all of us in 2008? Global financial crisis and oil price increases.
5. What was the best gift you received during the ’08 holidays? The best gift was the joy I saw from my kids’ faces when they opened their pressies.
6. What was the best gift (most appropriate or best received) you gave during the ’08 holidays? Gifts for the kids – I guess we know what they will really enjoy.
7. Do you have any regrets about what you did in 2008? I wish I had more patience when it comes to my kids.
8. Do you have any regrets about what you didn’t do in 2008? The eternal I-wish-I-could-have-lost-weight.
9. Did you meet anyone that became important to you in 2008? None.
I guess I better look at the life insurance quote that was given to me earlier. *sigh*
Aggie. 27 going on 40. Mommy.Wifey. non-practicing RN and RMT. Blog Geek. Leftie. Big Foot. Chocoholic going on Rehab. Scrapaholic. Photography Enthusiast. Perpetual Student. Nerd. Sarcastic. Tactless. Hates shopping. Loves cake and coffee. Loves conversations that make sense.
Motherhood becomes me. It's all about my kids now. Read about my passions in life - my God, my family, my work. With a lot of distractions on the side. Read more.
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All I got was money in envelopes 
Since Martha loves animals, I have put the 
There are 
